How to Ferment Apples

By John McDaniel

Alcohol has been made for thousands of years in part by fermenting fruit, one of the most primitive alcohol-producing methods. Apples take less time to ferment than grapes or other fruits. Some people ferment apples to produce drinkable alcohol, while others may use the concoction for cooking or butter.

Different apples yield varying tastes after fermentation.

Step 1

Wash out the beaker or flask used for fermentation.

Step 2

Pour 50 mL of room-temperature apple juice in the container. Only use fully ripened apples instead of apple juice. Skin the apples and grind them with a food processor or blender until they form a pulp. You will need 50 mL of the pulp to replace the apple juice.

Step 3

Add at least five grains of dry yeast to the container.

Step 4

Stretch the lips of a helium balloon over the flask opening, so that the ballon covers at least an inch of the flask. The balloon must be a high-grade helium ballon for the process to work; a regular party balloon won't suffice. Seal the lip of the balloon with a twist tie or rubber band.

Step 5

Place the balloon-covered container in an undisturbed area that stays at or around 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 6

Monitor the balloon for four to seven days, after which it should have inflated slightly. The inflation represents carbon dioxide leaving the juice, as a result of the fermentation process. Take the balloon off the flask and pour the liquid through a sieve into an airtight jar; this filters, or racks, the pulp out of the liquid. Discard the pulp. Seal the jar tightly and store for three months.

Step 7

Open the jar after three months and check on the fermentation. The liquid should appear chalky or cloudy, indicating the yeast is not fully fermented. Using a sieve, transfer, or rack, the liquid into a second jar. Reseal the jar and store at room temperature for an additional three months.

Step 8

Open the jar after the three months and filter the liquid through a sieve once more into where the liquid is stored for drinking or other use. This liquid should be clear and free of sediment and yeast.